Player movement in the NFL this offseason will affect the fantasy landscape.
NFL free agency, which officially begins Wednesday, is essentially already underway. Players can re-sign with their current teams and the “legal tampering” period begins Monday afternoon. Player movement will have a profound impact on the NFL landscape in 2022 and, of course, it will also be a big deal when it comes to fantasy. SI Fantasy senior analyst Michael Fabiano will keep track of all the signings that will have a fantasy impact, and he’ll detail it here.
Sunday, March 13
Cardinals re-sign Zach Ertz (three years, $31.65 million)
The Cardinals locked up their pass-catching tight end, landing Ertz after a successful run with the team since being traded from Philadelphia last season. In 10 active games in Arizona, he tied former teammate Dallas Goedert for the fourth-most fantasy points among tight ends on the strength of his 71 targets, 49 catches and 490 receiving yards.
Of course, Ertz did a lot of his damage while DeAndre Hopkins was out of action. The good news for his 2022 value is that A.J. Green and Christian Kirk are both free agents, and chances are one or both will not be back with the Cardinals. As it stands, I like Ertz as a borderline No. 1 fantasy option at his position entering his age-31 NFL season.
Cowboys re-sign Michael Gallup (five years, $62.5 million)
One day after the Cowboys traded Amari Cooper to the Browns, the team re-signed Gallup. It’s certainly a deal that will make Dallas fans (like myself) wonder what the team is doing, as Gallup is coming off a torn ACL and has been inconsistent in the stat sheets. In fact, his yards-per-catch average and touchdowns have declined in each of the last three seasons. Still, Gallup’s fantasy stock rises with Cooper out of the mix.
In fact, he could become as much as a borderline No. 2 or 3 fantasy wideout if there are no setbacks in his knee rehabilitation. At worst, he’ll be the third option in what has been a prolific passing game behind CeeDee Lamb and Dalton Schultz (or even second in a best-case). Don’t be surprised if Gallup is on the same fantasy level as Cooper in 2022.
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- MMQB: Bucs Left Light on for Brady
Michael Fabiano is an award-winning fantasy football analyst on Sports Illustrated and a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association (FSWA) Hall of Fame. Click here to read all his articles here on SI Fantasy. You can follow Michael on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram for your late breaking fantasy news and the best analysis in the business!